COLLEGE STATION — This Texas A&M basketball team can be hard to figure, but I’ve figured out at least one thing five games into Big 12 play.

Don’t count ’em out. Not after the way they played on Saturday night at No. 14 Texas.

Sure, the 1-4 Aggies lost again, this time 67-58, and they left their offense somewhere in Dime Box on their way over to Austin on Highway 21. But anyone in their right mind who looked at their schedule before the start of Big 12 play likely had them with about one victory to this point.

That’s what playing three Top 25 teams and the defending national champion will get you.

“Losing is no fun, but I can live with our effort,” Aggies coach Mark Turgeon said after the Longhorns game. “I was really proud of our group.”

Turgeon has lamented the fact that A&M let a home victory slip away against sixth-ranked Oklahoma, which would have put them at 2-3 at this point. No matter — the Aggies can still achieve what they set out to do before the season — make their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament.

Here’s how: They must defeat Texas Tech and Oklahoma State this week at Reed Arena, to get back to 3-4, and just as importantly to get some confidence back after three consecutive losses.

The Aggies then play at Oklahoma (loss) before hosting Kansas State (win), putting them at 4-5. Here’s where it gets a bit tricky: Their next two games are at Baylor and at home against Texas.

I say one of those — probably the UT game at Reed — is a victory (5-6).

While A&M’s schedule to start Big 12 play was brutal, the Aggies can’t argue with how it closes.

Their last five games go like this: at Texas Tech (win), at Nebraska (loss), Iowa State (win), at Colorado (win) and Missouri (tough one, you tell me).

Depending on that last game, that either puts the Aggies at 23-8 or 22-9 overall and 9-7 or 8-8 in league play. Last year the final number was good enough to earn them a third consecutive NCAA tournament trip but, like last season, they’ll need a good showing in the Big 12 tournament to ensure another bid.

In any case, the first five games are mercifully history, and Turgeon and the Aggies can wipe their brows and press on. Their goals are still in front of them.